Record-breaking reinsman Dexter Dunn won the final race at the Dunedin venue this season with a pin-point performance in the sulky behind the Cran Dalgety-trained Innocent Artist.
As appropriate as it was that Dunn signed off in Dalgety's colours, Innocent Artist's approach to racing meant there was a touch of irony to the win.
While Dunn is a dedicated, jet-setting record-
breaker whose commitment has him spending endless hours travelling from Christchurch to Forbury Park meetings, he describes Innocent Artist, quite simply, as a bit lazy.
''Cran has upped his work a bit. He is hard to get a line on because he is a bit of a lazy horse,'' Dunn said.
Despite the horse's super-relaxed approach to life, that does not mean the driver does not have a high opinion of him.
''He is a lovely horse and a cool horse; I quite like him.''
A busy Dunn pushed the pacer out strongly from back in the field to run down veteran pacer Motu Speedy Star in the shadows of the post.
''It worked out perfectly for me. They went hard and he got a swoop into it; he can reel off that last bit pretty well.''
Dunn also combined with Cran Dalgety's father, trainer Jim Dalgety, to win with Time Traveller in race 6.
Time Traveller and Dunn trailed the favourite, To Ri Alby, and Blair Orange throughout race 6 before outsprinting them on the passing lane to win.
Earlier, Dunn scored with a front-running drive on the Tony Stratford Fatherdantherodeoman in race 2.
The horse hung badly when beaten into eighth on the track last week, but Stratford ironed those issues out during the week to produce a more tractable pacer on Saturday.
Popular race caller Dave McDonald was scheduled to commentate at the Forbury Park meeting, but became unwell after arriving on course and was taken by ambulance to Dunedin Hospital.
He was released later in the day and returned to his Southland home.
In his absence, the first race was commentated by the on-course commentator at Saturday's Te Rapa meeting, George Simon.
The call was fed by satellite link to the Forbury course to be broadcast on course, as well as being aired on Trackside television.
Trackside television officials then arranged for Canterbury commentator Matthew Cross to call the rest of the programme from its Christchurch studios.
Cross delivered polished commentaries, despite having to call solely from television monitors.
While the commentaries came through clearly on television, they were unclear and mixed with static over the track's speakers.
With no commentator at Forbury Park, on-course announcements were made by race-day judge Ken Dempster, who was officiating at his last race meeting at the track on Saturday.
